Covina-Valley Schools Seek Kenya Court's Help In Former Student's Sex Abuse Lawsuit

WEST COVINA, CA — The Covina-Valley Unified School District is seeking the help of both a local and a foreign court in defending a lawsuit brought by a woman, now in her mid-30s, who alleges she was sexually abused as a minor by a middle school teacher and that the administration ignored red flags.

The plaintiff is identified only as Jane J.R. Doe in the West Covina Superior Court lawsuit that also names as a defendant the former teacher, Richard Jadrich. The suit alleges sexual battery and harassment, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and various causes of action for negligence. The woman is represented by the law offices of Gloria Allred.

On Monday, attorneys for the district, claiming a lack of cooperation from Doe's attorneys, filed court papers asking Judge Benjamin P. Hernandez- Stern in advance of a Sept. 29 hearing to issue a "letter rogatory" requesting the high court of the African Republic of Kenya to appoint someone to administer the oath and to take the deposition of Sarah Sarkissian, identified in the district's pleadings as a friend of the plaintiff.

A letter rogatory is a formal written request sent by a court in one country to a judicial authority in a foreign country asking for help to get evidence.

Doe alleges that Sarkissian, who now lives in Nairobi, told English teacher Cindy Agobian about her concern regarding how much time the plaintiff was spending with Jadrich, according to the court papers of the district's attorneys. Doe and Sarkissian were students at Sierra Vista Middle School in Covina at the time.

Sarkissian testified in a sworn declaration provided to Doe that the teacher responded by scolding her and asking her "How dare she make these accusations" and telling Sarkissian that she could "ruin someone's life," according to the CVUSD attorneys' court papers.

Despite the district's efforts, Doe's attorneys have refused to cooperate in furthering a setting up a voluntary oral deposition by Sarkissian regarding the sworn declaration, the district's lawyers further contend in their pleadings.

Sarkissian herself is refusing to communicate with the district's attorneys and has thus become an unwilling witness, the CVUSD attorneys further state in their court papers.

According to her suit, Doe was 12 years old when Jadrich began to groom her during the 2006-07 school year. Jadrich allegedly encouraged the plaintiff to audition for a summer band, which she did successfully, and he also began to give her long, lingering hugs in his classroom and kisses on the cheek, the suit states. In spring 2007, Doe allegedly was sexually abused multiple times in Jadrich's classroom during school hours, the suit claims.

Questioned by the school principal whether anything "inappropriate" was going on between her and Jadrich, a "scared" Doe "did not respond affirmatively," the suit filed in May 2025 further states.

Doe says she did not fully understand that she was a victim of sexual abuse by Jadrich until 2024, when she reported what happened to her to Covina police, who arrested the 70-year-old in September 2024 on suspicion of unlawful sexual acts with a minor.

City News Service